Moments in Time
by bookworm2342
Summary: A few moments between Daniel and Charlotte.


Disclaimer: I don't own Lost.

Moments in Time

Charlotte was having a very bad day, that's the only thing she could. First, her flight was late. That wouldn't have been a problem, but after it landed, the car she was taking to the freighter wouldn't start for close to ten minutes. Once it started, the driver was driving so fast it must've been illegal, and they almost got in an accident more times than she could count. On top of it all, he was muttering about ungrateful women who thought everyone could wait for them. She wanted to scream, but decided against it. She spent the ride fuming in silence.

When she finally got to the freighter, the team leader, Naomi, glanced at her dismissingly. All she said as she handed Charlotte her room assignment was "Nice of you to finally show" before walking away. Angrier than she had been just minutes before, she glared at everyone surrounding her before dragging her bags to her room.

While on the way, she tripped and fell down the stairs, twisting her wrist in the process. As she gathered her belongings quickly, just wanting to get to her room and hide, she almost missed the man standing a few feet away from her.

She noticed him watching as she stood up. "Well? What do you want?" she asked sharply, not in the mood to deal with anyone.

His eyes shifted nervously as he replied "I'm sorry…I - -I was just wondering…are…you all right?"

"Am I all right?" Charlotte repeated incredulously. "I've just had the worst day I can think of in I don't know how long, and you're asking if I'm all right? Everyone here is bloody insane" she finished in a near scream.

She stared at the man in front of her, and his reaction surprised her. "I hope things get…better for you" he finally said, and his warm brown eyes met hers for the first time. Almost immediately, her anger and frustration began to fade, leaving only fatigue in its wake.

She must have been staring at him blankly, as he began to walk up the stairs leading to the main deck. She began to feel guilty for unloading on him. "Hey, wait" she called out, and the man hesitated before turning around. He looked at her curiously, and it was Charlotte's turn to shift nervously. "I'm sorry, for earlier. You were just trying to help. I've just had a terrible day, but I shouldn't have taken it out on you"

The man almost smiled. "It's okay" he replied softly. "I've had my share of - -of bad days" Charlotte studied him for a moment, and knew that he was telling the truth.

"I'm Charlotte" she finally said, a peace offering of sorts.

"Daniel" he replies after a moment. She nods slightly in goodbye, and turned to go to her room.

The short time she was on the freighter, her and Daniel had become rather good friends. Apparently, her entrance onto the freighter made an impression on the science team and crew, and most of them thought of her as a cold-hearted bitch. At least, that's what she could tell from conversations. Daniel, she learned, also had a reputation. He was very forgetful. She could tell that quickly, but as they progressed closer to their destination his memory steadily improved. They were each other's allies, and their days were spent playing card games or talking on an area of the freighter that was virtually abandoned.

Daniel didn't notice, she didn't think, but she defended him to the rest of the people surrounding them. During one instance of telling off Keamy and his men, Charlotte noticed Frank, the pilot, standing off to the side. When the men stormed off, Frank gave her an approving nod before walking away, whistling an unfamiliar song.

Charlotte would study him when he didn't notice, mainly when he was doing various experiments. Most of the people eventually decided to stay away from them. When the two were on the main deck, it was like they had a force field around them. Miles would approach them at times, but she mainly ignored him. Frank was normally welcome, and Naomi would only come over if she needed to.

She was surprised, but she never got tired of watching him. His somewhat erratic behavior was endearing. His experiments, although over her head, were also interesting. He didn't get tired of explaining things to her that were obviously common knowledge in his mind. The more time she spent with him, the more apparent it became that he was absolutely brilliant.

During one of his experiments, Frank walked towards her. They stood in silence for a few minutes before Frank broke it. "You know, you're different with him" Charlotte blinked, and looked at him with a questioning look. Frank showed no reaction and continued. "He's different with you, too"

Charlotte found her voice. "What are you talking about?"

"I mean that you're real sarcastic and distant with everyone else, some would even saw bitchy" Frank chuckled. "When you're with him, you're softer. You smile, really smile, not just the smirk you give everyone else"

"What about Dan?" she asked, trying to disregard what Frank had said about her, but not being able to fully shake it.

"He's more sure of himself when you're around" Frank said, and Charlotte turned to look at Daniel again. At that moment, he glanced over at her and gave her a quick wave before going back to his work. Without realizing it, she smiled softly. "You're good for each other" he finished.

Charlotte listened to Frank's footsteps fade away before letting a stray thought creep into her mind. "Maybe we are" she whispered to herself.

When Benjamin Linus shot her, she had no thoughts at first. As she lay, catching her breath, Daniel crept silently into her thoughts, as he did rather often as of late. She hoped he was faring better than she was. She was wary of guns, although she'd never show it to anyone. Daniel, though, grew visibly unsure at the sight of one, and Charlotte wasn't sure he was capable of hiding it.

As she became their prisoner, Charlotte's fear grew. All she could hope was that Daniel had ended up with a good group of people, unlike she survivors she found herself. Logically, she knew some of them were good people: they were just scared. She could tell that Locke was their leader, and he didn't let them have much of a say. The people that brought her food all appeared nice, although hesitant and distant.

When Locke came over and said they were trading her for another member of her team, she grew terrified. All she could think was not Daniel, please not Daniel. When she saw Miles standing with an unfamiliar Iraqi man and a young woman, she felt relieved, before fear began to rise again. She didn't pay much attention to the changes that were made, and she blinked when all of a sudden the Iraqi man motioned for her to leave, Miles and the woman nowhere to be seen.

"Is Daniel with you?" she asked quickly, the question escaping her before she could think of the consequences of saying it.

"Daniel" the man repeated. "Is he wearing a white shirt and tie?" he asked her.

"Yeah, is he okay?" she asked, concern seeping into her voice

The man looked a bit surprise at her concern. ""He's fine. He's worried about you, though. From what I heard, his main goal was finding you"

Charlotte nodded, not entirely trusting the man. She wanted to see for herself how he was before judging the other group of Oceanic survivors. During the walk, the man introduced himself as Sayid. He also informed her that Naomi was dead, but Daniel and Frank were both with some of the other survivors. After he told her what she wanted to know, they walked in silence until he stopped right before the crest of a hill. "We're here" he said before walking again.

Charlotte took a few moments to compose herself and give herself a mental pep talk. She decided that she wasn't going to let them see any emotion. She was nice to the other group, and they locked her up. Maybe if these people were wary of her, they'd leave her and Daniel alone. Nodding once, she walked over the crest, following Sayid.

She saw Daniel first, and as he slipped his arm over his shoulders she relaxed, but let her guard back up as soon as he removed it. They could talk later, as it seemed they had enough time.

While on the Island, they only grew closer, which surprised Charlotte. She had no idea how she had gone from needing no one to becoming so dependent on Daniel in such a short time. She had to admit to herself that she had fallen for the physicist, but she wasn't going to tell him. She still had her pride.

When they walked into the Tempest, Daniel had gone from nervous into full blown panic in under a minute. He hadn't spoken a word, but his eyes widen drastically and he became so fidgety Charlotte thought he was going to run out at any moment. "Dan" she spoke gently, trying not to startle him.

At first, she thought he didn't hear her. She readied herself to get his attention another way, but he turned his gaze from the computers to her. "I - -I don't know why I thought I could do this. Charlotte, I really can't. I can't. Not at all. I'll end up killing everyone, and then what? We'll…we'll become him" Daniel spoke quickly and rambled.

Charlotte sighed and knew she had to do something drastic. She had two choices: slap him or kiss him. She couldn't bring herself to hurt him, even if it was for his own good. She readied herself, deciding it would be a quick one. The moment her lips touched his, that thought disappeared. She didn't know how long they kissed, but as they broke apart Charlotte remained quiet until she could trust herself to speak without any sign of how it affected her.

"Can you do it now?" she asked him, pleased that her voice sounded steady. Daniel stared at her, eyes wide, before nodding. Charlotte nodded and smiled. "Dan, I know you can do this"

Charlotte had been watching over Daniel since her death. She saw him fall apart, and live a shattered life for months before he got the idea that he could save her. That idea pieced him back together, and Charlotte stood by as he worked for two years straight with almost no hesitation.

She stood with him the first time he saw her younger self, and she longed to reach out and touch him. She knew instinctively that she couldn't, though. She was with him the day he spoke to her, warning her to not come back to the Island. This time, Charlotte could see the pain in his eyes the moment he saw her. She also saw the pain intensify as soon as her younger self told him she couldn't eat chocolate before dinner.

Charlotte could tell that, no matter how hard he tried to pretend, he wasn't okay. He wasn't even close. He was driven by his single mindedness, and she hoped it wouldn't lead to his death. As much as she missed him, she wanted him to live his life. During his time away, he had become good at lying and acting, better than she thought he ever could.

Charlotte could've yelled at him for his stupidity when he walked into the Hostiles' camp carrying a gun. In fact, she did. Her screams fell on deaf ears, and she gasped in shock when he revealed that his shooter was his mother.

Quickly, Charlotte realized he was dying and she composed herself the best she could. There was no need for Daniel to see her pain, not when he would be scared and confused.

He wasn't, though. As he materialized in front of her, Charlotte watched as he looked around, realization dawning on him as he saw his dead body lying on the ground. He looked at Charlotte and smiled grimly. "I guess I couldn't change things after all"

Charlotte nodded. "You know, I never got a chance to tell you something"

Daniel shook his head. Instead, he pulled her into his arms. "I think we can talk later. Even though I couldn't change things, we're together now"


End file.
